Monday, June 20, 2011

Game Boy #1



Now you're playing with... nothing, because this isn't a video game console.

EDITED TO ADD: People have been asking me about the tune I use for the Entity storyline. Here's the thing: I DON'T have any real info on it. I acquired it along with a lot of the other Ren and Stimpy public domain music second-hand and A LOT of tracks that are included either don't have correct information or don't have any information other than a name. In this case, the piano music is simply called "Evil." However, I also have a duplicate of the song that labels it as "Satanic" and that it was composed by Richard Harvey. I hope that's helpful, but that's all I've got.



92 comments:

Mountain King said...

Loved the Game Boy rendition of the theme.

Now that's out of the way, what the hell? No, what the hell. I had the same brick (bought it third hand from a friend with Mortal Kombat, Tetris and Wario, that was it)
At about five min in and I wanted to hit the greedy bastich, Herman. How the heck did we go from that git to this Tron lite rubbish?
What was it with the 90's and this sort of story; Digimon, Reboot, this crap and indeed Tron itself. A digital world imprinting onto our own or vice versa really was over done back then,

Still putting aside the crazy plot it wasn't that bad a comic. The art, while mismatched was in character, the protagonists easy to slip into and follow. I wouldn't have called this a bad comic, but it wasn't a good one either. Herman was pointlessly evil to the point of silliness, the protagonists were clueless and the villain's over all goal so pointless even the Princess called him on it.
At the end of the day you have to admit that, as a overblown advert for what was an expensive piece of kit at the time, it's one of the better examples. Not brilliant, but competent at the very least.

Fun review, as ever.

Thomas

PS
I would suggest trying to hunt down the Kid Chameleon comic adaptation, from Sonic The Comic. I keep suggesting these things from the UK, but this one is really in keeping with what you just reviewed.

Cubey said...

I'm disappointed, Linkara. No RickRoll joke? I mean, LOOK at Josh's brother. You just know he never gonna give you up.

Herman seems to hate liberals. Is he a ?

I'm afraid that the metaplot feels a bit too disattached from reviews themselves recently. It could be just me though. The review itself was excellent, however.

Jannett_Jazz said...

Okay, sweet cakes? That comic was just weird. I mean "makes the Ultimate Warrior comics look meek and mild" kind of weird.

Jyger85 said...

Seriously, I need to get that 8-bit version of your theme for my cellphone. That was awesome.

Great review as always, but man, the plot thickens with that book, and I'm pretty sure I know who and/or what the Entity really is.

SlyDante said...

Sooo...Why did they call this comic "Game Boy" when it's only about ONE game? Why not just call it "Super Mario Land"?

Also, apparently Mario & Sonic share the trait of not giving a crap over the fact that their universes are works of fiction.

By the way, Mario & Luigi live in Brooklyn in the old '80s/'90s cartoon, which is probably what they based it off. But both work equally well. ^_^

Anyhow, spectacular review as always, bonus points for the 8-bit theme!

P.S. Speaking of gaming comics, I think The Entity just popped up in the Sonic the Hedgehog comics, erasing everything right before their (temporary) reboot. Thus, it is my opinion that The Entity is a manifestation of annoying reboots & events. Granted, I'm definitely wrong, but just a thought. =P

Anonymous said...

I love the 8-bit version of the theme song.

StHubi said...

BEST intro song eva!!! :D

Seriously, that was absolutely awesome!

Zach H said...

Holy Freakin' Crap. I haven't even gotten into the review but I HAD to take time out to say that that 8-Bit Theme Remix is AMAZING! I think I like it even more than the real deal and I ADORE the original theme song. Ok, rant over, back to the review.

Anonymous said...

fantastic review linkara

Anonymous said...

Am I the only one who noticed that was clearly Princess Peach and yet the comic constantly refered to her as Daisy, who is a different character all together.

Lewis Lovhaug said...

"I would suggest trying to hunt down the Kid Chameleon comic adaptation, from Sonic The Comic."

Okay, this one DOES have me intrigued, since I LOVE Kid Chameleon.

Anonymous said...

I love the 8 bit theme to your show.

SlyDante said...

@Mountain King:

"I would suggest trying to hunt down the Kid Chameleon comic adaptation, from Sonic The Comic. I keep suggesting these things from the UK, but this one is really in keeping with what you just reviewed."

I haven't seen that one, & I still recommend their Streets of Rage comic instead (http://defaced.co.uk/geekenvy/index.asp?article=4), if only for the priceless talent behind it, but Linkara's enthusiasm for Kid Chameleon has me wanting both now. =P

ChrisPV said...

By freak chance, I did have a couple issues of this. In the next one, Herman's unemployed and basically living on the streets, if memory serves.

This comic taught me the value of karma as a child.

Anonymous said...

Nice review, hilariously bad comic.

On a side note, you might not be aware of this, but someone started fansubbing (instead of having Hong-Kong subs) Timeranger, the sentai Time Force was based on.

While I know you said you have no intention to watch the sentai series, some of the insight provided by the fansubbers as to what the authors were thinking when writing the series and how they believed time travel could work without creating time paradoxes all over... well, time and space, is actually pretty interesting.

You should check out this blog post, it might put some of the issues you had during that review to rest:
http://superherotime.tumblr.com/post/5474793338/note002

If it's tl;dr, the important part is the second half (from "Timeranger turns these ideas about the behavior of waves and particles into ideas about how time-travelers interact with the universe," on).

Zach H said...

I'm Baaaacckkk!

Ok, so, I think I've decided this comic needs a movie adaptation (or at least a TV movie adaptation).

Maybe it's just because I love cheesy or maybe because I never actually grew up on the inside completely but I thought the whole idea behind this comic is just too cool and I wish this comic was still around today (Any idea if it was popular back in the day?). This is, if you ask me, another overlooked Nintendo related gem, even if they did suggest that video games are more important than procreation and that (seemingly) everyone who plays them is a goody two shoes momma's boy.

Regardless, GREAT review as always. Can't wait to see you do #2...and bring back the 8-bit theme for it!

Zach

P.S.
Did you know that Mario is supposed to be a plumber from New York City who was sucked into an alternate dimension? That might explain why you saw him written with a Brooklyn Accent.

Unknown said...

"Am I the only one who noticed that was clearly Princess Peach and yet the comic constantly refered to her as Daisy, who is a different character all together."

Daisy was originally just a plain old palette swap of Peach, just like Luigi was a palette swap of Mario. It would be a few more years until Daisy really came into her own.

Jesse said...

This was fun and I hope to see the other issues. Herman might get his in one of those.

How the book is getting more stuff when it wasn't there before reminds me of a 90s movie that had a kid go into his story book and goes on a adventure with two guys, a girl, and mermaid, but I can't remember it. Damn.

Still hope Ninja Style Dancer is OK, and that he comes back soon.

Artik_Skarab said...

So... Is Game Boy the new Brute Force, a comic so awful that it is awesome?

PS: Am I the only one who didn't like the opening song? Then again, I believe I'm the only one who liked the Sci-Spy #1 opening

Rappy said...

Wow. Herman's like some bizarre cross between the most fundamental Republican, a free marketeer, and the Brawny Man.

Is it wrong that I still find the whole "video games enter the real world" concept a good one, even if its execution is almost universally bad?

Last but not least, I totally agree with those that have given praise to the 8-bit Linkara theme. It's very nostalgic.

Des Shinta said...

About Criminal Intent...Cancelled.
Argh, that Digimon Joke was painful.
More likely, no-one would believe them about this little character incursion.
Ah yes, the bit about fictional characters having their own real universes. There's this theory floating around that all fiction is created from the writer having some transcendant connection to the world's they write of. But considering the plotholes and utter drivel some writers produce, and how certain author's can screw over their fanbases with a single work or act...It's a bit harder to believe in such a wild hypothesis.

Oooh, Creepy stinger.

Falcovsleon20 said...

"Am I the only one who noticed that was clearly Princess Peach and yet the comic constantly refered to her as Daisy, who is a different character all together."

Yeah but that didn't really become all that well known until after Daisy started appearing in the spin-off games more regularly. Back in 1990, Daisy was really obscure being only in Mario Land 1 and both her and Peach (Who still went by the name Toadstool) really didn't have much distinction between each other. So I can see the confusion shown here.

Basically the impression I'm getting here is that the writers just read the story in the game's instruction manual or something when they wrote the script for this comic.

Radar said...

My sisters are blonde and I have black hair. Just wanted to point that out first. I'm sure that attack on the mall would be on the news so their mom should believe them.

joeymartin64 said...

Good review. Nice to see a fun so-bad-it's-good comic. Nothing against your angrier reviews, but it's cool to see a more upbeat ending every now and again.

Anyway, big Mario nerd over here, so let's-a go.

About the voice; Mario was voiced (and portrayed in live-action segments) by Lou Albano on the Super Mario Bros. Super Show, so the sort-of Brooklyn voice was established at the time. According to the cartoons, some other side materials, and supposedly the Mario Bros. arcade game, the Bros. are actually from Brooklyn. That's been abandoned by the games proper (Yoshi's Island makes it clear that they were born in the Mushroom Kingdom, and actually makes Mario's joke about the stork in the comic seem eerily appropriate), but it's still a pretty popular bit of fanon.

Tatanga looks way more threatening here than in his official artwork. I like how his motives as devised for the comic were shot to hell when Mario Land 2 was released. Turns out he kidnapped Daisy to distract Mario so Wario could steal his castle. Really.

As for Daisy, she looked like a Peach palette swap really up until the GameCube days, so we'll let that one slide.

I've also got to say, it bugged me that they threw "liberal politicians" at the end of Herman's little hit list. Couldn't the guy just be an asshole? They had to demonize conservatives while they were at it? Doesn't pop culture ever get enough of that? Sorry, that's really a pet peeve of mine.

Incidentally, Herman looks sort of like Danny Wells, the guy who played Luigi on the Super Show. Surely a coincidence.

Anonymous said...

Awsome review as always Linkara!

Anyway, I just wanted to leave a comment about "The Nintendo Comics System". It's just a quirk of Nintendo.

After all, there were a TON of games on the Super Nes that had "Super" in the title. Likewise, the Nintendo 64 had the 64 tag in a lot of games, Game Boy Advanced games usually had an Advanced tag, and the DS had quite a few puns with two word subtitles that started with D and S, respectively.

June said...

invader Zim clip FTW!

My sister and I have completely different hair colors. I have dark brown hair and she has blond hair. It was more pronounced when we were little but even now as adults our hair colors are distinctly different (Hers went from very light to more of a dirty blonde.) It's not too hard to accomplish. Just have parents with different hair color. She got her hair color from our dad and I got it from our mom.

And now we know when this Entity stuff is going climax, maybe. *squee!!*

Anonymous said...

I just got a 3DS today, then I come here and see this. What a coincidence.

Anyway, great review. Love the 8-bit theme and looking forward to seeing more of this series in the future.

SpectralTime said...

That 8-Bit theme song WAS pretty boss.

Seriously speaking, I didn't even think this comic seemed that bad. Tatanga had some pretty cool/funny/funny in their coolness lines and a silly sorta "global conqueror trying to impress his girlfriend the same way he solves all his problems" vibe, and I actually liked Mario's sarcastic personality a bit more than the more general one he's got today.

The art was... hit or miss, but I honestly think the story and writing have potential. I'm not really old enough to have seen all their work, but score one for Valiant for taking a ridiculous premise and running with it until it's not bad.

Razorvine said...

Bees FTW!

I found this review to be extra entertaining. I think I must have read that comic at one point, cause I swear I remember it from somewhere.

Also I am really liking the plot stuff at the end of the reviews. Creepy and cool.

Hannah said...

Even though this comic is pretty stupid, I love the letter in the end on what is real and what is imaginary. I find the whole thing really interesting because sometime I think I can see both real and imaginary in my mind. For as long as I can remember, I've found comfort in the imaginary world, and even though others say it's not real, I still believe in it. And this is probably why I enjoy writing. reading, and any media related mental escape because the border of imaginary and real is non-existant (especially in fiction) and I'm able to escape the insanity's of reality (because when you get down to it, reality is pretty nutty.)

The Letter M said...

"Nice review, hilariously bad comic.

On a side note, you might not be aware of this, but someone started fansubbing (instead of having Hong-Kong subs) Timeranger, the sentai Time Force was based on.

While I know you said you have no intention to watch the sentai series, some of the insight provided by the fansubbers as to what the authors were thinking when writing the series and how they believed time travel could work without creating time paradoxes all over... well, time and space, is actually pretty interesting.

You should check out this blog post, it might put some of the issues you had during that review to rest:
http://superherotime.tumblr.com/post/5474793338/note002

If it's tl;dr, the important part is the second half (from "Timeranger turns these ideas about the behavior of waves and particles into ideas about how time-travelers interact with the universe," on)."

Speaking of which, whenever you get to your HOTPR episode for RPM, you may want to check out some of the episodes of the sentai it is based on, Engine Sentai Go-onger, for comparison, because they are very different.

Sorry for being off topic.

FugueforFrog said...

What can you really say suck about an episode as insane as this? Aside from the awesome 8-bit theme, you were firing on all cylindars this time. Though...having played SML, it just sort of feels sad that Tartanga just was never used to this effectiveness as he was in this comic. Basically after SML, you find out that he essentially was a diversion by Wario while he took over Mario's castle and that Tartanga was sadly one of Wario's buddies/minions/whatevers. And Daisy here seems less her own character than a Princess Toadstool/Peach recolor...well OK, she was that in the game.

And yeah, I sort of figured that the GB would be actually a Digivice. I know you already have Pokeballs and Pyramid Head, but try to look into getting a Digivice somehow or another. (well that or Ninja Storm (Hurricanger) or Alien Ranger (Kakuranger) powers for Ninja Style Dancer if he ever returns.

Finally: the Entity mystery gets spookier and spookier. The book seems a bit more like the Neverending Story meets Lovecraft mythos...eerie.

Carl said...

!SlyDante, Sooo...Why did they call this comic "Game Boy" when it's only about ONE game? Why not just call it "Super Mario Land"?

Because there were several issues, each one promoting a different Game Boy game?

Anonymous said...

I'm SO intrigued by the storyline! Hmm...it all seems to come down to that book. *goes off to rewatch the Silent Hill reviews again*

You probably don't want to answer this, but if you do — will something big happen story-wise during the Rise of Arsenal reviews, like Mechakara in Countdown? Maybe the Entity has something to do with the godawfulness that is Cry for Justice/Rise of Arsenal. Well, it was around before those reviews, but...yeah I'm tinhatting here ;)

Joseph said...

To tell the Truth, I was expecting the comic to be related to gameboy from Captain N. Can't wait to see how much fun the other comics are.

What you were hinting at in the end, I first thought you were refering to mechakara or Vyce, but I thought that would be to obvious.

One theory I have about the "entity" is that it is the creature that causes that weird stuff in silent hill. That or the minds stuff from the last silent hill event might still be effecting you causeing you to be paranoid.
I think that might have also happened to Vyce, but I don't recall you implying he was in silent hill.

Dr. Ivo Robotnik said...

In response to the 8-bit/16 bit/whatever bit opening song, I now demand a ATFW side-scroller tie-in game.

Also, what is that music you use during your plot continuation sequence at the end? They used that in "Stimpy's Fan Club" on Ren and Stimpy, during Ren's chilling psychotic episode.

Gyre said...

To be honest, the best part of this was that creepy music and the Big Book o' Madness. Where'd the original book come from, Amazon?

Anonymous said...

you have to admit that it wasnt as bad as... well as bad as it should have beem

Jarkes said...

Wait until you hear THIS tidbit about this comic... in the end, it would've been revealed that the douchebag Herman was hallucinating the entire thing. Which begs the question of how Rick and Josh saw it, but whatever... However, the comic was canceled before this plot point was revealed.

Also... freaky stinger. Loved the bit with 90's Kid, though. I was half expecting Harvey or Pollo to punch him...

Paul S. said...

I believe that the "Super Mario Bros Super Show" was on around the time of this comic so that explains why Mario had a Brooklyn Accent.

I always wondered why Daisy showed up in later games, yet none of the other characters from Super Mario World showed up.

Anonymous said...

Super Mario Land is out on the 3DS's Virtual Console incidentally. So you can play it if you get one of those.

I'd presume the rest of the issues include characters from other Game Boy games... I wonder if there are any Zelda: Link's Awakening themed issues.

Unknown said...

Great review, Linkara. Since Super Mario Land was just released as a digital download for the 3DS' new EShop, it seems especially timely.

And this comic was actually more enjoyable than playing that game, as it does exist in its own incomparable nexus of silliness, as opposed to being a crude imitation of the NES game.

ShadowWing Tronix said...

Now I want an 8-bit Atop the Fourth Wall video game. You have the enemies for it.

As for the split-up, most of the Nintendo Comics System comics had two stories and some joke pages. Game Boy is the only series I have that was a full length story (there are two issues of The Legend of Zelda in my collection that was full-length and also split into two chapters).

Jeremy A. Patterson said...

Valiant also did a Captain N comic, which famously included Samus Aran in place of both Mega Man AND simon Belmont!

Valiant IS planning a comeback in 2012!

J.A.P.

Aldrea said...

Love the 8-Bit theme song! And are you trying to give me nightmares with this book and the Entity? Because it's working!

If I may question one thing, is it fair to point out the World Trade Center Towers? The comic was made before the 9/11 attacks so it clearly was not attempting to be cruel. Like many films, TV shows, and other media, it had the misfortune to feature the Towers in a way that could be seen as disturbing in a post-9/11 world.

The way you pointed it out in the review made it seem like you thought the comic was doing it on purpose. You could have just moved on if it made you uncomfortable. At least it wasn't being deliberate, like (according to Film Brain's review) Final Destination 3.

That aside, a fantastic review! That Herman guy was a complete ass (Jaywalkers? Really? They're ruining the world, Herman?). And I loved Kareoke Night!

Whisky Tango Foxtrot said...

A while ago I'd suggested that the Entity was the Bear (you know, the teddy bear that keeps popping up randomly in the middle of reviews) mostly as a joke, but the stinger on this episode is starting to make me think that I might have been right.

I mean, with the references to it being a "lost beast," Linkara constantly expecting it to turn up behind him (as the Bear often did) and it being "familiar," what else could it be?

Anonymous said...

ok I have never commented on any of your stuff before and I havent seen this review yet but I paused the video just to say that theme song kicked ass.

BumblebeeZ3 said...

I'm slightly disappointed that there was no Weird Al "Girls just wanna have lunch." gag. But overall, another good video.

kriss1989 said...

I own this comic. I loved it as a child. Now that I'm older, I realize how silly it is, but it's enjoyable in it's own continuous playing of the concept straight. It also introduced me to the idea of 'artists tapping into the other realities' idea at a young age, which got me interested in reading, tv, movies, comics, and doing my own story writing.

Anonymous said...

Good review Linkara, as usual. Also, loved the 8-bit version of your song, that was awesome.

I also got to say that you're very good at making your story creepy (which I like). That sound you have the beast/entity make every time always makes me shiver.

Anonymous said...

The Comic: First off, the intro... I could *not* keep a straight face during it. It'd be perfect for any video came based comics you may do. :D Next, the comic... Eh, outside of Herman and a slightly uncomfortably shot of the towers with a caption that didn't look like things would end well, I say that yeah, this was fun, but stupid, unlike a few of the other tie in comics you've done of this sort.

Your Arc: AI for the ship seems to be going well. The fact that the incident with Ninja Style Dancer has left you looking over your shoulder like a paranoid person is unfortunate, but understandable. The fact that the entity seems to be watching you as you work... creepy

Fiery Little One

MystikX said...

Y'know, I'm getting some kinda hunch as to what the Entity's identity is...though I'll keep it to myself so that I don't accidentally spoil it if I'm right...

Anonymous said...

Ok, this has nothing to do with the review (though I loved it, especially the 8bit themesong), but are you aware Frank's HolyTerrorBatman is finally coming out? Only at this point he isn't even pretending crazy steve is batman anymore. He's calling him 'the fixer'.

blake said...

Weird comic, Linkara, but I like it. I love everything that came out of "Nintendo Comics System". I can't wait for you to review more.

What bothers me is I just played Super Mario Land and I can't think of any place where there is one door, so I don't know what that three door stuff is about. It looks like the writers played the game since all the enemies are there. Then again maybe they just skimmed the instruction booklet.

I just think that detail is really odd. The comic takes place in the "real world", and the video game exists inside that, so this isn't even an adaptation, but a comic about the real game. Except it's not since this game has doors in it.

Your ongoing story is getting really cool.

DanManX said...

"Yes, it turns out they're brothers...who have completely different hair colors, go figure."

Um...yes. Yes that's...totally possible, why would it not be? O.o My brother and I have different hair colors.

Ming said...

Loved the Game Boy/8-bit style rendition of the theme. It fits very well with the video game-themed comic. Ah, the memories of the old NES/Game Boy era . . . Hope to see the 8-bit theme soon.

Anyway, this comic wasn't that bad. It was stupid and cheesy, but hey, I actually liked it. Now, if only video game based movies could be just as good . . .

Meanwhile, the Entity storyline continues with our hero growing more scared as he learns more about the Entity. I can't help but wonder . . . if this Entity is supposed to be a personification of the destruction of all imagination . . .

Can I safely assume that the Entity's name is The NEVERSHOULD and you're going to show us the Entity in full very soon?

Catboyjeremie said...

That review was both fun and interesting. I read the first and second issues of this comic and even though its so dumb in many ways, I actually loved it because I was a kid at the time. This time, I thought it was over-the-top in a "so bad its good" way.

Seeing this comic again, it makes me wish we could have character development to know why Herman is such a jerk. He's just a normal human and yet he embodies so many negative thing about humanity.

The mere idea of video game characters being able to come in our world sounds both interesting and terrifying. What would some of them do when they'd realize that they've been created and have been living in a different universe/dimension/reality? Sure, Mario just wants to take care of Tatanga in this comic but what if it was on a more serious... Ah whatever, I'm thinking too much.

I'm glad to know you'll come back to that comic in the future.

No Land said...

Gotta respect Tatanga's attitude towards his captive:

"Daisy, if you do not agree to marry me of your own free will, then I shall... indulge your every whim and continue my persuasive tactics."

Say what you like about his world-conquering policy, but he is a gentleman.

Lewis Lovhaug said...

"The way you pointed it out in the review made it seem like you thought the comic was doing it on purpose. You could have just moved on if it made you uncomfortable. At least it wasn't being deliberate, like (according to Film Brain's review) Final Destination 3."

Well, I certainly didn't mean to imply that they were doing it deliberately - it's just one of those "hilariously awful in hindsight" kind of things. ^^

The MOD said...

Love the tricorder at the end havent seen one that lights up like that. Where did you come across it?

Lewis Lovhaug said...

"Love the tricorder at the end havent seen one that lights up like that. Where did you come across it?"

Ebay. It's an eFX-produced tricorder. Apparently there are a lot of smaller prop-making companies that produce tricorders with full lights and sounds, but the tricky part is that they're expensive. I got a bit lucky with mine, but it still was pricier than I would have wanted.

Hey, That's My Leg! said...

My theory is that Herman went insane from his encounter with Mario and vowed to finally destroy him, dressing in a warped, purple version of Mario's outfit. Just you watch.

Also, I really like this Marble Bees (My God)... Erm... Entity storyline you've got going at the moment.

BooRat said...

Funny review! The way that guy talked and acted near the beginning made me think of Crazy Steve or like he'd become some sort of crazy hobo killing vigallantee!
This comic though plotwise sounds alot like it was an early knockoff of like that Captain N series! The whole consept of Video Game characters being real and some kid being some how choisen to help out the game hero(es) fight the villains! Bowser is a better villain to me than that guy!
I'm guessing this comic is where the myth of only female repolsing guys like video games came from as he's gotta be at least 13-15 years old and by that age most dudes would could forget about games for at least a little bit when crewsing a mall like his (brother?) was trying to do!
The entity is Cthulhu isn't it!?

GL Josh said...

Awesome reveiw. As for the Entity, to me is sounds like Missingno. It was a "lost beast" and the book said things like "lies beneath the ocean" and implies that this creature should never have exsited. Missingno, for those who don't know was a Pokemon in the original games that existed only because of an error. And you found it in the ocean around Cinnebar Island.

Peteman said...

Obviously, the douche is hired by Ethan's boss from the CTRL-ALT-DEL webcomic.

Anonymous said...

Fun fact, the official nintendo magazine in the uk was called "Nintendo Magazine System"

You say in the review that Bowser doesn't try to outright kill mario, that depends. Their relationship is a strange and interesting one. In some games Bowser actually teams up with Mario for various reasons. Mario is also unbelievibly cruel at times too. In New Super Mario Bros DS, Mario drops bowser into lava, and just stands there watching as Bowsers flesh melts off the bones while he makes a futile effort to escape.
-Sabre

GuitarZero183 said...

Linkara nice review but something has been bugging me for a while, what is the music you played during the reading of the book at the end? It sounds awesomely creepy and I'd like to have it for an MP3.

is it from Phantasmagoria? The reason I say that is I know you list the music and footage used at the end of reviews and I don't want to come across as annoying

Aldrea said...

" "The way you pointed it out in the review made it seem like you thought the comic was doing it on purpose. You could have just moved on if it made you uncomfortable. At least it wasn't being deliberate, like (according to Film Brain's review) Final Destination 3."

Well, I certainly didn't mean to imply that they were doing it deliberately - it's just one of those "hilariously awful in hindsight" kind of things. ^^"

Ah, okay! Fair enough!

ReddiShadow said...

Maybe it's just because I've watched too much Marble Hornets recently, but I'm starting to get the distinct impression the Entity is the Slender Man. That would be all kinds of awesome/nightmare-inducing.

Anonymous said...

I'm almost certain that The Entity is SPOILERS





SPOILERS




SPOILERS- MissingNo.!-SPOILERS

Linkara, if you mess up this brilliant twist, I AM DONE WATCHING! (your story arcs). The clues are obvious, and your choice of comic is assuredly part of it. You keep reinforcing your/your character's experiance with gen1 Pokemon games, to the point where it's becoming obnoxious; the "shores where the beast came" are cinnibar isl; soundd glithces and "hissing are trademarks of missingno, as is erasure of savegames/universes; and the number of the beast iss lost - or is it MISSING!?

Thefoolishmoose said...

First of, the political message from Herman was hilarious, damn liberals. Also I'm really diggin the darker outro sequences, I think you are writing them way better than the more action oriented plot pieces that have come before, can't wait to see were you take this idea

Jarkes said...

Thought I should give you the heads-up: Every episode of every (complete) season of Power Rangers is now available for viewing on Netflix Instant. That should make things easier for you, right?

Jarkes said...

"What was it with the 90's and this sort of story; Digimon, Reboot, this crap and indeed Tron itself. A digital world imprinting onto our own or vice versa really was over done back then,"

...Tron came out in 1982...

Sketches of Payne said...

Excellent episode! Plus the ending music had me whistling the Super Mario Land theme the rest of the day.

Ha-hah! Digimon reference. ++

Octo7 said...

Alan Moore explored said concept at the end in Miracleman before Morrison (in '84).. but Moore's (and later Neil Gaiman's) Miracleman/Marvelman is pretty impossible to find nowadays so I guess you were right to recommend Animal Man.

Los-Chainbird said...

hmm,, dont think anyone answered this but... the reason its "Game Boy" number 1, and not "super mario land" is probably because valiant did a separate series about mario. there was a collection that was out of print a long time and is sort of rare i think. I think they did some captain n comics as well.

The mario series is strange. It focuses a little more on comedy than action. All the characters are depicted as varying degrees of stupid, or as jerks. Mario is super obsessed with a comic book about a super hero plumber called "dirk drain head" Princess toadstool has a fictional letters column where various monsters write to her for advice! Its much more entertaining than the game boy one. If Linkara were interested in it, I'm sure we could arrange something since I'm from the same state, but they aren't comics I'd want to donate, sorry:)

Ugo Strange said...

The Entity is OBVIOUSLY The God that The Magic Gun Girl was sacrificed to! HOT DAMN Linkara THIS IS AMAZING STUFF!! Can't wait for The Rise Of Arsenal and Warrior #4!!

YOU ARE A MAN *PUNCH* !!

Ghjklbnm said...

Linkara
i know you have said befor that you don't care for the ultimate universe, and i don't know if someone has already aske you this, but
will you make a post sometime this week about the actual death of ultimate peter parker spider-man?

Truce Weston said...

Your episodes are like a 5 star recipie of awesome!

I had to pause the video from that bit with the salsa commerical that said "NEW YORK CITY?!?!", I was on the floor laughing from that! And I always think about that bit when someone mentions New York City in some similar context like that!

I was surprised that there was no comparison to Sonic Live #1, but that's all for the best I think

So until Neutro steps on Herman, MAKE MINE LINKARA!

Patrick said...

The Kid Chameleon comic is not part of Archie's Sonic but in the UK's Fleetway series Sonic the Comic. Just thought I'd help avoid the confusion. ;)

I really enjoyed the review of this comic. This comic looks like it's pretty stupid but it looks better than I expected it to be. I look forward to seeing more reviews of the other issues!

Jamibu A.K.A. Zen119 said...

Thank you for reviewing this comic. This is the first time that a comic that I have read to be featured here at AT4W. I got this comic as a gift from a relative from the US along with a Super Mario Bros. comics #3. I really enjoyed watching the review. The 8-bit version of AT4W was ok.

Glad you sort of enjoyed this comic even if it still sucks. Will be waiting for future reviews of Game Boy issues.

Volvagia said...

Kid Chameleon? Interesting, though it doesn't sound bad, just tacked to a goofy concept. Some suggestions:

Doom Patrol #70. (Seems ridiculous and bizarre, if a bit dangerous to cover.)
An old Avengers issue for Secret Origins Month.
Curse of the Mutants, which, again, makes the X-Men seem like total jerks. Seems like Marvel's being respectful and running with the concept, but the first part I read was poorly executed. Personally: That issue is a C-. (and with events, you know it gets worse the further you go in) Kind of endearing in it's "comic book" kind of way, but no hot stuff and nothing I WANT to remember reading or continue reading. If you want to cover another Marvel event, I'd say start there.

Volvagia said...

The issue I read was the one with that vampire sleeper cell including a suicide bomber. A VAMPIRE SUICIDE BOMBER. (It's X-Men vol. 3 #1.)

Volvagia said...

Streets of Rage comic: Well...it's not really bad. It's goofy, but it's a video game adaptation. And...none can really beat The Doom Comic for ridiculousness. ("What's that? An important looking door! Knock knock! Who's there!? Me me me me me me me me!" Memex4 is about right.)

Monstermaster13 said...

Nice review, and kudos for the Blackadder's Christmas Carol clip.

Anonymous said...

My brother is blonde and I have dark brown hair... that's not odd.

I hope there is a sequel where Herman finally gets his!

Also Tatanga needs to make a comeback!

Anonymous said...

Where can I donwload a copy of this opening as it was awsome

Terrorblades said...

Grate review! I use to have a bunch of these comics that i use to buy at a market. They where in Swedish and i gave them all away this Christmas to a friend, witch lead to a group of people tower over magazines... there are some disturbing moments in these like in one a guy goes totaly nuts and smashes a store window and steals game-boys (With a disturbed look in his face he shouted "Must... Have... GAME BOY!" Or something like that)!
Damn that stuff was weird... i think in all there where people who seamed to be completely insane or something weird.

Rachel said...

Y'know, I used to love Valiant's Super Mario comics back in the day... They were ridiculous, but fun. Plus, I was like eight years old at the time.

Also, the voice of Mario will always be Captain Lou Albano, no matter what the games say.

JLH said...

I had all four issues of Game Boy when I was younger. I remember the first two were had these really heavy cardstock covers, then the last issues were regular style (they may have been reprints at a cheaper price). The running subplot of Herman was actually fun, as you'll see. Unfortunately, it got canceled before there was any proper resolution per se.

All of these Valiant issues lately hope you get around to the Valiant/Image crossover, DEATHMATE. Hell, I'd gladly send you my copies if you wanted them (if 90's Kid doesn't already have a few dozen of his own).

Jeremy Aron Patterson. said...

JLH: The cardstock covers were the 1990 first printings, while the regular style covers were the 1991 reprints, published under the title 'Nintendo Comics System'!

Jeremy.

Doug Puthoff said...

More reviews of GAMEBOY!

I want to find out what happens to Herman